Well, it took 10 games, but Lindor finally struck out at the Double-A level. He added a double and home run last night after his "failure," though, as the shortstop pushed his overall line to .441/.578/.647 in those astounding first 10 games. Much like Yasiel Puig, Lindor cannot stay white-hot forever; he will soon start regressing to a more normal set of numbers. How far Lindor regresses, though, is up for debate. After drawing 10 walks and stealing five bases, Lindor is showing a mature approach and has not even come close to being fazed by the promotion. I do not know what to expect from Lindor going forward, but after this past week and a half, nothing would surprise me.

Herrera may not have much power -- as is evidenced by the shortstop hitting his first home run of the season Thursday -- but he is an intriguing player to follow. He just turned 20 years old, comes with a decent scouting report on defense, and just needs to show he can hit for his prospect stock to rise a little bit. With only 36 games to judge Herrera on this year, we cannot say for certain that he is showing that necessary growth on offense, but the early returns are encouraging (.277/.367/.380 line in 36 games). He is not a prospect on the level of Lindor, but watching players like Herrera develop is what is truly fun about prospecting.

Carlos Carrasco (SP, Columbus): ND, 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 10 SO. This was not the most efficient outing for Carrasco (98 pitches for five innings), but that is nitpicking. Bottom line, the right-hander has looked good in Columbus (71:19 SO:BB in 60.2 innings). As for Cleveland? Who knows?

Nick Hagadone (RP, Columbus): BS (1), L (1-2), 0.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO. Hagadone, on the other hand, may be overpowering Triple-A competition, but his control has been lacking (28:14 SO:BB in 17.2 innings). Thursday was just one of those nights, though; I wouldn't read too much into it.

Juan Diaz (SS, Columbus): 2-for-5, 1 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 SO, 1 E. After a slow start, Diaz has played more like an average player in June and July (.259/.334/.401 in 40 games).

Roberto Perez (C, Columbus): 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 1 SO, 1 PB. Perez handled Akron quite well in 2013 (.247/.453/.376 line in 32 games) but has struggled mightily in Columbus (.178/.274/.234 line in 40 games). His defense is still strong, but that hitting difference is crazy.

Matt Packer (SP, Akron): W (10-5), 6.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO, 1 HR, 1 HBP. Another quality outing for Packer, who has not allowed more than two runs in a start since May 13. As Tony wrote Wednesday in Minor Happenings, Packer is gaining value.

Jeff Johnson (RP, Akron): H (2), 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO. Yet another quality right-handed reliever coming through the system. Some of that depth should turn into a major league piece at the trading deadline.

Giovanny Urshela (3B, Akron): 1-for-2, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 BB. Getting Urshela to take walks is a goal for him this year (though the organization does not want walks at the cost of hard contact), so seeing him draw his 11th and 12th walks is certainly something.

Cedric Hunter (LF, Akron): 2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI. Hunter just continues to show that he is not challenged by Double-A, though he is still blocked and unable to try his hand in Columbus.

Paddy Matera (3B, Carolina): 2-for-3, 3 RBI, 1 BB. Matera continues to sport an OPS over 1.000 and play every day for the Mudcats; not bad at all for someone who started the year in independent ball.

Jordan Smith (RF, Carolina): 1-for-4, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 SO. Maybe expecting Smith to develop power was our mistake. He hits the ball just fine, but that power just has not come so far in the outfielder's career (a career ISO hovering around .100).

Jerrud Sabourin (1B, Carolina): 0-for-4. The second half of the season just has not been kind to the Sabour-Tooth Tiger, as Sabourin owns a rough .196/.282/.252 line in 29 games.

Jeremy Lucas (C, Lake County): 2-for-4, 1 E, 1 PB. Lucas had a good night at the plate, though his error (along with three others) highlighted a defensive struggle for Lake County Thursday.

Zach MacPhee (3B, Lake County): 2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI. In his second game with the Captains, MacPhee added two hits (after two walks the night before) to give him a nice little .444 on-base percentage.

Logan Vick (CF, Lake County): 0-for-2, 2 BB, 1 SO, 1 SB. Once the trade deadline passes I want to see Vick and his .283/.410/.401 line get a try at Carolina. Might as well see if it sticks.

James Roberts (3B, Mahoning Valley): 2-for-2, 1 R, 2 BB. Roberts has not shown much power during his time with the Scrappers (.311/.400/.324 line in 23 games), but the 15th round pick is getting on base in his first professional experience.

Manuel Boscan (DH, Mahoning Valley): 3-for-4, 1 SO. Boscan came into the season as an overachiever, but when he has gotten playing time, he has had some difficulties seizing the opportunities (.227/.244/.227 line in 12 games).

If you want to follow Jim on Twitter, he’s@JimPiascik. If you want to e-mail him, you can do so at jpiasci1@gmail.com. If you want to read his Master's thesis on college athletes and Twitter, you can do so here.

User Comments

yourtribe

July 26, 2013 - 10:50 PM EDT

Get naquin up to Akron.

Bobby D.

July 26, 2013 - 10:17 PM EDT

If anyone should be moved up it should be Paddy Matera. The kid is a beast. The scout who found him should get a big bonus.

Tony

July 26, 2013 - 11:47 AM EDT

Super 2 means nothing really. Just means the org has to pay him a little extra in his final season because he gets 4 years of arbitration. I think in the end, it may cost them $2-3M if they promote him before July-something (the Super 2 cutoff is sometime in mid to late July now from what I understand with the new CBA). Much tougher to circumvent.

Jim Piascik

July 26, 2013 - 11:25 AM EDT

Which would likely be the case, in my opinion. One possible timeline is trade Asdrubal in the winter, start Aviles for two months, call up Lindor in June. Similar to Wil Myers in Tampa this year.

And I wouldn't blame the team. Small-market teams have to be aware of those things in order to compete. It's just how it is.

Norm

July 26, 2013 - 11:20 AM EDT

But he likely would be a super 2 if he is called up before June 2014..

Tony

July 26, 2013 - 10:07 AM EDT

You got it Matthew. They could call him up somewhere in the last week of April next year (depending on the season start date) and he would then be under control through 2020.

Matthew

July 26, 2013 - 9:49 AM EDT

Whereas, calling him up sometime in May of 2014 gives the Indians an extra year of control, and he would be here through the 2020 season, correct?

Tony

July 26, 2013 - 9:39 AM EDT

Lindor will very likely not be in Cleveland this year. I almost say that with near certainty, but understand that if the Indians do happen to deal Cabrera that they very well might consider calling Lindor up (but everything I heard is not until sometime into 2014 at the earliest. Not at the start of 2014, but a month or two into it). But those things can change with a team in a pennant race, especially if Cabrera is dealt.

But to answer your question Jarad, if Lindor is up in September and up for good, the Indians will control him for the next six seasons and he is a FA at the end of 2019. Calling him up anytime between now and the end of the season does not affect that clock.

Jarad

July 26, 2013 - 9:30 AM EDT

Tony, say Lindor is here in September and ever after, how long is he under control?

Jim Piascik

July 26, 2013 - 9:30 AM EDT

Two games into his Double-A career (the first time I saw him) he just looked like he didn't belong on that field and should be higher. The way he took borderline pitches, exuded confidence that you could feel from the press box, all of it. He carried himself in the way Bryce Harper did when he came through Double-A with Harrisburg (with less brazen cockiness, though. But I love that about Harper. Lol)

Plus, outside of all that subjective observational stuff, a 1:10 SO:BB with a little pop. Who does that?

Tony

July 26, 2013 - 9:23 AM EDT

Yeah, no doubt that Bauer and Carrasco won't see time in Cleveland the rest of the year at least until Columbus' season is over and then they add one or both as September callups. Right now, if the Indians need a starter, they very likely turn to Salazar on a short term basis.

Lindor is just having a sensational year and proving his offensive approach is legit and he is damn close to being ML ready. Really, the only thing preventing him from being in Cleveland right now is Asdrubal Cabrera. As soon as Cabrera leaves, be it as a free agent after 2014 or in a trade before then, I expect Lindor to become the starting shortstop or very soon after. Aviles is perfect to have around as he can help ease Lindor into everyday work at the big and help limit Lindor's exposure early on....or he can simply be a short term stop gap at shortstop until Lindor is given the call.

camfrommaine22

July 26, 2013 - 9:10 AM EDT

I agree, repitition for both bauer and carrasco, other than bull pen (salazar first)

Without injury neither Carrasco or Bauer would have been pitching much in Cleveland in 2013. An organization gets accused of yo-yo a player when they put him up, give him a few starts and send him down if he doesn't perform well....then repeat.

Using guys at the major league level because of injury is a great way to give guys exposure and let them know what it is they have to work on when they do return to Triple-A.

Both Carrasco and Bauer have been handled properly by the organization this season and will benefit from the experience.

Carrasco is more about command as he is 1 year removed frmo TJ and that is the last to come back. Might be able to lack some command in Triple A but not a ML level.

Matthew

July 26, 2013 - 8:20 AM EDT

I agree, Chengy. I'd like to see Carrasco and Bauer both finish the year in AAA. No more yo-yo-ing them back and forth from Cleveland to Columbus. Hopefully they can focus on their development (control for Bauer, pitching to both sides of the plate for Carrasco) and be ready to challenge for starting jobs next season. It's a shame that this has been kind of a lost season for both, but at this point the starting 5 is set, and they need to focus on being the best pitchers they can be next spring.

Rich

July 26, 2013 - 8:17 AM EDT

There's certainly nobody in the Indians rotation right now that Carrasco could replace and upgrade that position.

Chengy

July 26, 2013 - 4:18 AM EDT

SO I am thinking at this point in time it is best for Corrasco to stick in AAA for a while, get the repetition thing down pat, which hopefully than can transfer to the big league club.

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